02/23/2004 | KE2F My main objective in this contest was to work Europe on 40m. While this may not seem much of a deal for a normal station setup, I was trying it with 5 watts and an indoor portable trap dipole, also known as the Buddipole.

Conditions on 40m were more than favorable here in North Central Kentucky and so I tried the strongest stations first. Some heard me, but couldn't read me. Others just kept calling CQ. I can't say I blame them, the QRM being as it was. The ones that heard me tried very hard, though.

After about 12 attempts, I finally got through to CS6V in Portugal. And if I recall it correctly it only took one ore two calls. Thank you again for picking me out of the noise there guys. That made my day. I also worked a number of Caribbean stations with the indoor setup.

The next day, I took my FT-817 QRP gear to our local clubhouse and used a fully grown dipole for 40 and 80 meters at about 25 feet. I got through to the Europeans quite nicely from there. Even on 80m I had a few contacts. England, Italy and Yugoslavia I believe.

So, in summary, it was a great success and I hope to see you all again for the second round.

Michael, KE2F -- KE2F